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Thursday, March 20, 2008

Hopworks Finally Set to Open

The Hopworks Urban Brewery, a phantom establishment that has managed to make and sell beer for nearly a year without actually being open for business, is finally ready to let the public in. Based on the account John Foyston offers in today's Business section of the O, it's going to have been worth the wait.

When it opens, the brewpub will occupy 9,200 square feet of the former Sunset Fuel Co. building -- about half -- and will likely be Oregon's greenest and most sustainable. The brew kettle and the brewery truck run on biodiesel made from the deep-fryers' used oil; waste heat from the pizza ovens warms brewing water; the landscaping (native species except for the Scotch broom stabilizing the soil) is irrigated and the brewery washed down with runoff caught from the roof and saved in a 5,000-gallon tank; and the reflective roof provides a substantially cooler environment for air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment, increasing their efficiency....

"It is a scary time," said Ettinger, whose father-in-law bought the building and property and is the major investor, "but that's why I acted as my own contractor -- I've probably saved 50 percent or more than what it would have cost." He figures the project has cost about $2 million and includes almost 9,000 square feet of commercial space next to the pub to be leased out. There's also a half-acre of land in the back zoned for future development with condos, apartments or loft space, he said....

"We're on track to brew 1,800 barrels (about 56,000 gallons) in our first year," he said, "We planned on 1,000, but we had no idea that the beer would take off like it did. So we are having to scramble for some ingredients, but that's a good problem to have."

The grand opening is set for Tuesday, though I don't have info on the time. I'll let you know as the date draws near. I expect it will be a well-attended debut.